Countless Oceans
by hiyadollz
Summary: At the age of 12, Haruka Nanase meets a young girl who will completely change his views on love relationships. As he grows older, some of his closest friends have crushes on him. Haru, who is unsure of his orientation, must figure out how to get threw this high school drama and will he ever reunite with the girl who caused him all these problems? pairings: Haru x rin/makoto/Oc
1. Introduction

**Credits :I do not own Free! Iwatobi swim club, including all the character owned by the anime. I only own Naoto, the original character I created for the purpose of this fan fiction.**

**A/N: **Hello! This is my first fan fiction ever written and published on the internet. I hope you enjoy this story, I am not thinking of making a one shot out of it, so if you enjoy please stick around for more of this. I am not the best writer so please be nice with me, I am open to any one that wants to help me correct my errors. This fan fiction will contain some of the following pairings; Haruka x Oc (Naoto) / Rin x Haruka / Makoto x Haruka and possibly Rei x Nagisa. So if you do not like yaoi pairings you are welcome to leave.

Please Enjoy! :3

/Intro/

"I hate you Nanase-kun!" I heard her scream.

The young girl I had built feelings for shot me down. Even though I had only met her recently, my little 12 year old boy's heart cracked. I watched as she turned her back on me and ran off. As I stood there in silence, I tried, with the most of my capacities, to understand what happened. It was that same year, my newly found love life took a turn for the weirdest.

-Earlier that same day-

I walked around hastily looking for all the things I needed to go to swimming practice. I grabbed a small bag and threw it onto my bed. I pivoted to face my nightstand, my goggles and swim cap were still on it. I never kept them far from sight, since I went swimming more often than I could count. I love the water, I love swimming, I love the feeling of my fingers piercing the surface of the liquid. I threw my equipment in the bag and shut it closed with the zipper. Gripping the strap, I swung the backpack over my shoulder and rushed out of my room. I ran down the stairs, practically falling frontwards as I missed a few steps.

"Haruka-kun, Be careful! You'll hurt yourself." I heard my mother shout as she laughed at my decent. I shrugged and grabbed the handle of the front door.  
" I'm leaving...I'll be back later mum." I swung the door open.  
"Haruka-kun! You can't leave right away! We are expecting visitors!" my mother shouted. I stopped instantly. She walked up to me and took my backpack off my right shoulder.  
"At least, you should stay until they get here." she smiled placing my bag at the side of the door.  
"...okay..." I said pouting, I was very annoyed. I was ready to go swim, I even had my bathing suit on under my clothes. I slid the door close and walked into the living room. My father was absent as usual. He was always busy with work, so my mom was often the one to take care of the house.

I sat on the floor beside the coffee table. I was bored, I wanted to go swim.  
"Mum..." I said looking at my mother who was in the kitchen.  
"Yes Haruka-kun?" she turned stopping what she was doing.  
"Who is coming?" I asked looking out the door.  
"Some every Important people for your father's business." she said smiling.  
"...important...?" I whispered as my curiosity lingered. I continuously looked out the door as I leaned backwards on my hands. I then noticed a car pull up in front of our house. It was a black car, it had a also very distinctive appearance, unlike most of the car we see around here.  
"Mum, there is a car..." I mumbled, my mom let out a sound of surprise and took off the apron she was wearing. Cleaning up the kitchen slightly, she walked quickly to the front door. I found it quite absurd to see my mother so nervous. Who were these important people?

I looked at the car once again, I noticed a man walk out of the front door. He was very well dressed, he reminded me of a business man. Said man opened the back door of the vehicle letting out a tall and slender woman. She was also wearing formal attire. My eyes narrowed a bit as I noticed a little girl, she was very different from the two other members of the vehicle. I noticed her looking my way. Quickly, I turned my head looking at the kitchen.

My mother opened the door for these three strangers. To be completely honest, I still wanted to leave as fast as I could.

"Haruka-kun! Come welcome our guests!" I heard her say. I got up quickly and walked out from the living room and into the entrance. I took a quick look at the "important" people.  
"Oh isn't he just adorable. Your son has a beautiful face Madame." the older woman said as she looked at me. I frowned slightly, annoyed by her behavior.  
"Haruka-kun, this is Mr. and Madame Yoshihara." my mother announced. I bowed to welcome them, although I couldn't care less about their presence. However, there was one thing that did capture my attention, the little girl. My mother greeted the people inside and into the living space. As they walked passed me, I watched the small girl as discreetly as possible. She was smaller, but looked just about the same age as I. Her hair was so long and braided. It was of a magnificent sky blue, I remember finding it so pretty. I had never seen someone with blue hair before. She suddenly stopped and looked at me, I froze and suddenly felt myself become really shy. She stared at me continuously, as if she was trying to burn me with her glare.

"Nanase-kun, this is Naoto, she is our daughter." Madame Yoshihara said as she noticed us standing in the entrance. The little girl turned around after frowning at me. She sat beside her mother and started looking at the floor. I suddenly noticed my bag, still sitting beside the door.

"Haruka-kun! Come sit!" My mother insisted. I sighed and walked shyly into the room and sat on the un occupied side of the table. Naoto was once again looking at me, she was still frowning, almost as if she didn't want me there. There was a lot of conversation that had been done as I tried to avoid Naoto's stare. I think what annoyed me the most was that she never stopped. What's wrong with her? Finally, I got up.

"Mum, can I please go swim now?" I asked in a almost begging voice tone. My mother and her two guests laughed.  
"Nanase sure seems to like water!" the man said.  
"Oh he does! He really loves swimming, I think that's all he does!" my mom laughed.  
"Mum!" I raised my voice, I really wanted to leave.  
"Okay, Okay. No need to rush." she smiled at me, but then looked at the Yoshihara's daughter. " Hey, Naoto-chan, would you liked to go join Haruka? I'm sure you would have fun!" Naoto looked away pouting but then looked at me.  
"I don't think that would be a good idea..." her father announced.  
"Oh dear, let her go have fun! Naoto, go on dear." her mother said, her speech almost sounded like an order. The little girl got up and walked towards the entrance.  
"Haruka, take good care of her okay!" my mother shouted as I picked up my bag and left the house along with Naoto.


	2. Chapter 1

**a/n: **I won't be updating everyday, I will attempt to update once a week or so, since I got to go to school. I hope you enjoy this chapter. In the future chapters, I will always mention from what Point of vue, the chapter is being told by. Today, we will continue to read in Nanase's POV.

**/Chapter 1/**

_**Because You saw me there.**_

We walked together in complete silence. But walking together is a relatively big therm. Yoshihara-san walked behind me, never really passing me. At first, I thought she was just a slow walker, and never bothered to slow down. Eventually, I noticed her staying at least ten feet behind me continuously, was she avoiding me? I pivoted and stopped, watching the girl walk my way. She stopped suddenly, not getting closer.

"Why are you so slow...?" I asked in an annoyed voice. What was she doing?  
"I am not slow..." she answered. My eyes widened slightly, it was the first time I heard her voice. It was so high pitched and yet weak at the same time.  
"Then why are you always in back of me..." I questioned the young girl. She held her hands together and quickly looked away, making her usual pouting face.  
"I don't want people around here to have misconceptions!" she answered bluntly, not even seconds apart from my question. I didn't understand what she meant by misconceptions...  
"...I don't understand..." I said simply, she turned back at me frowning.  
"Of course you don't! You come from a commoner family!..." she said with pride, on her face, started to grow a ever so cruel smile.  
"Listen..." she continued " If anyone see's the daughter of the Yoshihara family hang out with a mere boy, they will think my family is neglecting their title!" I tilted my head slightly, I was still confused, but I was in no mood to deal with whatever she was saying.  
"Whatever..." I said as I continued on walking. I heard steps quickly rushing behind me.  
"Are you not listening! I'm telling you are nothing!" she exclaimed. I walked pretending to making nothing of it.

As we walked down the path to go to the pool, I stayed silent as she continued to try to get my attention. I pretended I had no knowledge of the girl following me. I must admit, although I didn't care for her, she did strike me as an interesting person... annoying, but interesting.  
"...How does it feel to be nothing..." she asked me. I suddenly stopped and sighed out loudly.  
"...Oi... if you don't want people to think we are hanging out... you probably should stop talking to me..." I said in a cold voice. She froze and held her hand up to her face, as if she was surprised I spoke back to her.  
"...hmpf!.." she let out a small sound of frustration, realizing that I had made a valid point. I took a few seconds to look at her, noticing all her features, they were very different from mine, especially her face.  
"What are you looking at..." she stopped her food in annoyance to my staring.  
"...You..." I simply said, I saw no reason to lie.  
"Well... umm... don't! Boys are not allowed!" she finally responded after searching for her childish sentence.  
"Why...?" I asked, I turned and continued on our way, hoping the conversation would progress.  
"Because... um... I'm not allowed to spend my time with boys..." she answered, I noticed a slight change in her voice. It went from cocky to reserved.  
"That is stupid..." I simply spout out.  
"I-it is not stupid, it's the way things are, m-my father said so...!" she shouted, as if I insulted her.  
"...Then your father is stupid..." I said coldly as I only turned my head to look at her.  
"W-WHAT!" she ran towards me. To my surprise she grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. For a small girl she sure had a good grip. As I felt myself be spun around, I saw her face. It was flustered red, probably from the anger at my comment. But even though, she looked angry, she also looked as if I had just seen the most amazing thing in this world.  
"H-how could you say my father is stupid! You'll be in trouble!" I shrugged at her comment.  
"But it is stupid... " I took a few seconds before continuing. "You should hang out with who you want..." her eyes widened. I then noticed how big her eyes were, unlike mine. They were of a light grayish blue, I was taken in by them.  
"You're eyes..." I pointed out. Her eyes narrowed.  
"What about them...?" she said a little pissed.  
"They are very big..."  
"Y-yeah! and?!" she took a aggressive tone of voice once again.  
"...it's pretty..." I said without thinking. Naoto suddenly changed. Like the ocean after a storm, her face suddenly relaxed. Her features became more soft and less tense. She turned her head slightly, a pink color on her cheeks.  
"T-thank you..." she said in a low voice. I must admit, I found it quite adorable. I suddenly realized what I had said, and blushed a little myself. I grabbed her wrist and started pulling her.  
"Now Pool." I said, I had waited enough. She struggled behind me. I let go of her wrist knowing that was the reason.

We finally reached the swimming facility. As we opened the door and walked down to the pool area, I heard familiar voices. Yoshihara-san stood behind me, no longer staying so far.  
"Haru-chan!" a small boy's voice resonated threw the room.  
"Nagisa... stop with the chan already..." I said as I saw Makoto walking behind a hyper Nagisa.  
"Haru you are quite late!" Makoto said smiling as he usually does. It didn't take my friends a long time to notice the well dressed girl standing behind me.  
"Hello! " Nagisa shouted jumping at her. The young girl backed up almost in a panic.  
"No!" she squealed as if she was scared of the boy. Nagisa took no attention and hugged her as the hyper child he was. She squirmed attempting to run away. I walked up to the two, and got Nagisa off her.  
"Yoshihara-san this is Nagisa, and the tall guy there is Makoto..." I quickly introduced.

Makoto walked over slowly.  
"Hello Yoshihara-san, I am Makoto. Nice to meet you." he said reaching out for a hand shake. Yoshihara did not seem amused by the gesture.  
"Nice... to meet... you..." she simply said keeping her hands to herself. Makoto seemed quite confused.  
"Yoshihara-chan! Did you come to swim with us?! Are you new to the club?!" Nagisa rushed into her face. I noticed her face becoming red as she looked at the two half undressed boys.  
"N-no! I can't!" she turned away closing her eyes. I walked away to go get ready to swim, pulling off my shirt and pants to reveal my swimming trunks. As I did so, I heard a slapping noise coming from the group's direction. Turning around, I realized the two boys coming my way. Nagisa held his cheek giving me a pitiful face.  
"Haru-chan! Yoshihara-chan hit me!" he cried. I could completely understand why since he was clinging on to the girl who must be the most anti social person, or at least to boy, ever.  
"...you did grab on to her..." I mumbled.  
"Haru, Where did you meet this girl?" Makoto asked. I explained that she was the daughter of an important person. My friends seemed quite impressed, although they didn't know what that meant.  
"She's... not very friendly now is she?" the brown head established.  
"...no..." I shrugged "... she can't hang out with boys..." I continued. The two boys looked at me with a perplex look. I explained the scene I had with Yoshihara earlier.

"That's so stupid!" Nagisa screamed.  
"Isn't it a little sad... she can't hang out with boys her age...No wonder she took Nagisa so badly..." Makoto said. The three of us looked at the girl sitting on a bench beside the pool. Suddenly, I noticed the coach walking towards her.  
"oh...oh..." I though, I quickly marched to the coach to stop him. "Coach..." I said blocking his passage, My friends behind me.  
"Oh! Nanase-kun! How are you doing? Hey did you notice the new girl over there? I wonder if she's going to join. Not many girl's in this swimming club! haha! " the coach blabbed on.  
"Coach! her named is Yoshihara! She came here with Haru-chan! Of course he noticed her!" Nagisa exclaimed. I turned at the blond annoyed.  
"Oh! Yoshihara?!" the coach quickly made his way by us and went up to Naoto.

I had a horrible feeling about this...


	3. Chapter 2

**a/n: **Hello everyone! This is chapter 2! I am gonna try to update weekly. Most likely on weekends!  
This chapter is in Naoto's POV! Enjoy!

**For now, Can I stay with you?**

I sat on a large bench that was leaning up against the wall. I did not look at any of the boys that were swimming in the large pool. I contented myself with looking at my feet, as un interesting as they may be. I felt myself get slightly heated, I was exactly where my father prohibited me to be. I was in a large room surrounded by half naked boys, them being boys was enough to get me in trouble!

As I panicked inside, I felt a presence approach. A large shadow was casted before me, I looked up, in hopes to not see a shirtless boy. A large man was standing in front of me, he was much older than everyone else, I deducted that he must of been the purpose in charge of this naked arrangement.

"Hello there dear lady." he said with a smile on his face. "I'm the coach at here's gym! Nice to meet you." he said in a somewhat comforting voice. I stood up politely, swinging my hands both in front of my dress, holding them together.  
"Greetings sir." I answered with a smile on my face. I then noticed the three boys from before behind him, leering at me.  
"Are you here to join the swimming team? We don't have a lot of girls as you can see!" he continued, snapping my attention back to him.  
"Oh! No, I am not allowed to join any disgraceful sports, such as swimming." I answered in the nicest manner possible. The coach looked at me surprised, probably because he didn't think I would use such crude vocabulary.  
"That surprises me..." he answered. The boys looked at each other, I could clearly see them questioning themselves.  
"Why is that sir coach?"  
"Well... I don't know much about your family, but I heard that the Yoshihara family is well known for their athletic perseverance. " as the coach finished his sentence, the three swimmers looked at me stunned. Great... exactly what I didn't want to happen...  
"Although that is true, it is my father that chooses the sports his family should attend and master." I responded smiling.

After a few minutes of unnecessary chattering, the coach insisted I stayed for a while.  
"I'm sure that if you look at how well my students perform, you will be quite amazed and want to swim yourself." he finished walking off to take care of his other students.  
"I... highly doubt that..." I mumbled in back of my throat. Suddenly the young blond from before pounced before me. I jumped in surprise and looked away.  
"Yoshihara-chan! doesn't that make you want to join us! We are really good!" he shouted.  
" Please, refrain from saying chan! It's san for you, simple commoner..." I said annoyed, placing my hand in front of my eye to cover them.  
"Commoner...?" he asked in a sad tone of voice.  
"Yoshihara-san, I'm sure if you took the time to look at us swim you would enjoy it. Haru is really good! You should definitely not pass this chance!" the brown headed swimmer said.  
"Haru?" I asked, unable to put a face on that name.  
"Yeah! that's Haruka's name! You know Nanase." the blond continued giving his friend a hand.  
"... I don't feel like it." I sat down crossing my arms.

I heard the two boys sigh, their hopes to get me into their little club failed. I was not to be persuaded to break my rules for a bunch of munchkins... Suddenly, I heard footsteps run away and soon after a solid hit the water.  
"Haru! " the brunette said running to the pool side with his smaller swimming mate. I decided to take a little peek after hearing the two boys complement the black headed boy over and over.

I froze, my eyes became as huge as globes. I saw the young boy rush threw the water as if it was nothing. My curiosity got me off the bench and onto my feet. For a second, I regretted looking, I felt my cheeks get warm, I was disobeying my father. "You are not to become friendly with boys..." I heard in my head, the voice of my father. But, never the less, I walked up slowly, holding my arms, to the pool's side. As I glanced in the water, I saw the black head flip around by kicking the wall, the water shifting away from him, such as a aquatic beast. Once again, I felt my cheeks get warm...

"What is this!?" I asked myself, "Why do I feel so un at ease..."  
"Isn't he beautiful Yoshihara-san!" one of the boys asked me. I quickly looked away, taking a step back from the pool. I looked at them, eyes still wide.  
"When Haru-chan is in the water no one can beat him!" the smallest said.  
"That isn't true!" I heard a new voice arise.  
"Rin-kun!" the tallest said. I looked at the boy in question. He was also tall, but he had long red hair. He looked like a girl for all I could make out. He was wearing a jogging jacket over his bathing suit.  
"Hey! I'm Mastuoka Rin! But you can call me Rin... umm..." he hesitated for a few seconds.  
"Yoshihara." I answered quickly. His smile lit up and laughed a little.  
"Is that your actual name?" he asked " I'm just curious!" I noticed his un regular dental shape.  
"No." I said " But you have no need to know my full name." I finished. The boy had a complex look on his face.  
"A-Alright!" he finished, vexed by my reaction.  
"Rin-kun is the only swimmer that matches up with Haru, he's really fast!" the brown head said, breaking the tension between me and the red head.  
"I don't care..." I spit out.  
"Wow... you're really stuck up..." the red eyed boy answered.  
"Rin... lay off." I heard Nanase speak up. He was dripping on the warm pavement. I saw Rin's face turn from anger to confusion.  
"Nanase, why are you covering for her?" he asked his "friend"? Nanase glanced my way, he shrugged without answering. He quickly jumped back into the pool, his friends, including the red head, got into the large mass of water with him.

I sat there quite a few minutes, just staring at the water, it seemed so clear, so pure... but inside I felt scared. I never swam before. As silly as that may sound, coming from me, the daughter of a popular sports family. My father never let me participate in team sports, he thought individual sports were better for me... Probably because I was different from all the other kids my age.

I suddenly felt a presence. In the water, Nanase swam towards me. He lifted his body over the pool side and sat beside me.  
"Oi! Be careful! You'll get me wet!" I shouted. He didn't seem to be bothered, he just looked at me after flicking his hair away.  
"...Why do you scream all the time..." he asked me, I closed my mouth, looking back down at the water.  
"I don't scream all the time..." I answered, patting my dress.  
"Then... don't scream anymore." he finished. I looked back at him, what was he saying? Was he trying to be nice? My eyes widened to this vague realization.  
"You have really big eyes..." he pointed out, I had not noticed his deep blue eyes were still staring at me.  
"Yes... and?" I asked, remembering that he had noticed this earlier.  
"You don't look like your parents..." he said coldly. I gripped on to my skirt.  
"No..." I stayed silent for a while, I felt my heart being squeezed. " I am adopted... I am not their actual daughter..." I finally answered, this reality always hurt me a little.  
"I see..." he answered simply, as he looked at my crisp hands.  
"My eyes are so big because I am Canadian..." I added. We stayed silent, sitting beside each other.  
"I like your big eyes..." He eventually admitted. My face felt like it was burning up again.  
"T-thank you..." I replied, it was nice of him to say that. It made me slightly more comfortable with him.  
"Oi! What are you two doing!" a voice shouted at us from behind. We both turned to see the red head glaring at us.  
"Rin." Nanase added.  
"You should be swimming at a pool! Not being all lovey dovey! " he snarled.  
"Hey! We weren't doing any of that!" I said standing up to him.  
"Don't lie! I saw your face!" I saw the anger rise inside him.  
"Rin, stop." Nanase attempted to calm him down, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. It was quickly slapped away.  
"Stay away from Nanase..!" Rin continued. Backing off slightly, I saw something I didn't understand. In his eyes, I saw jealousy, is that possible, that this boy was jealous? Suddenly, he snapped again.  
"Go away." he walked towards me and as his hands landed on my shoulders, I felt myself being pushed back and into the pool.

The water rushed through my hair and onto my skin, I felt myself panic...


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Hi everyone! I'm so sorry I didn't update last weekend! College kept me busy...Tonight I am planning on writing more chapters, like that I can't continue to post weekly. I hope you enjoy this chapter! It is in Nanase's POV. :3

**That was the day you left.**

I watched silently as the fight between Rin and Yoshihara became intense. Rin shouted at the young girl. He took a first step towards her, my eyes fixating on his hands. Suddenly, a sharp push was given. Yoshihara fell backwards into the pool. At first, I was more stunned by Rin's un usual behavior. The red head turned towards me, eyes full of hate, was that tears I saw? He ran off as quickly as he had arrived. Makoto and Nagisa, who had heard the commotion, rushed by my side.  
"Is everything okay?" Makoto asked in a worried state. At that same moment, I heard splashing sounds, such as a animal fighting for its life in the water. My head quickly redirected itself towards Yoshihara. My eyes widened as I saw the girl gasp for hair and quickly sank.  
"Yoshihara-chan!" I heard Nagisa scream, I jumped into the water. Being in the deepest end of the pool, the blue headed girl had sank to the bottom, bubbles of air rushing out of her mouth and crashing onto my body before reaching the surface. I grabbed onto her arm and swam back to the top. Gasping for air, Yoshihara let out a small cry. I saw to the side, pulling her to the side. My friends helped the completely damp child. She quickly fell to her knees and gripped onto the floor. Makoto rubbed her back in concern. As I crawled back onto the pool's side, I noticed water dripping on her cheeks. At first, I thought it was the water from her hair that was dripping down, but after looking closer, I saw the drops roll out of her eyes. She was crying...

"It is okay Yoshihara-san..." Makoto repeated, the girl paid little to no attention to the boy's words. We stayed there for a few minutes, before I got my things packed and left.

Yoshihara and I walked back home in complete silence. She was very calm now, but she was still soaked in her clothes. Gripping onto her for arms, she rubbed herself.  
"Are...you cold?" I asked.  
"A little..." she answered in a low voice. I then pulled out my jogging jacket out of my bag. I placed my hand on her shoulder, making my companion stop. As I stood behind her, I lifted the jacket over her shoulders and placed it over her.  
"...here... you can have it..." I said calmly. She looked at the floor, I noticed her cheeks become slightly pink.  
"Thank you...Nanase." she answered in a shy voice. I felt my own cheeks become warm. What was this I was feeling? Outside, I might have looked cold, but inside, I could feel the warmth invade my chest.  
We continued our journey back to my house.  
"Thank you for saving me..." she finally mumbled, I turned my head towards her.  
"You can't swim...?" I asked.  
"No...my father never bothered to show me how." she said looking down, almost in shame.  
"Why..." I asked, I could not comprehend why anyone could not swim or be forbidden to practice the sport.  
"Because water is dangerous, my father said." she continued. I frowned at her comment.  
"That is not true... water is amazing." I stopped and turned my head to the ocean. " Being it water is the best. I like to imagine I am one with the water. When I swim, I feel my body slide threw the surface, I feel like I am free..." I felt myself be taken away by the thought of water.  
"You really like water Nanase?" she asked, I nodded. " I could tell, your eyes glisten every time you talk about water." she let out a small chuckle. I turned around, it was the first time I saw her smile deliberately.  
"...You're smiling..." I pointed out. Her mouth was soon covered by her hand.  
"I was not!" she said hiding her lower face. I found it interesting that she denied the truth so much.  
"You should smile more..." I said looking back at the ocean. It was a breath taking sight, it was still clear outside, the sun warmed up the sand and water.  
"Yoshihara, come..." I grabbed her wrist, she pulled away as quickly.  
"Don't pull me like that..." she said looking away. I didn't understand what the big deal was. I looked back down to her hand, taking it. She gasped.  
" Better...?" I asked, I was really shy at this point. She was flustered, as if I had said the most embarrassing thing she had ever heard. She looked at our hands and finally gripped on to mine. She nodded slowly and her eyes locked with mine. I started walking towards the ocean, she followed closely.

As we walked down to the beach, hand in hand, I felt my cheeks burn up. I was blushing, intensely at that. I couldn't understand why I felt this way, it had never happened before. Inside I felt happy, Yoshihara didn't let go of my hand, almost as if she trusted me. We finally stopped a few steps away from the ocean's reach.  
"Look, isn't the ocean beautiful..." I suddenly said, breaking the silence. The girl looked far away, in the arsons' of the sea. I walked towards the water, but within a few steps I noticed Yoshihara staying still.  
"...Yoshihara?" I questioned.  
"I'm scared..." she said, keeping her voice down.  
"Of what...?"  
"The ocean..."  
"..." I suddenly started to tug on her hand, making her advance a little every time.  
"Nanase!" she shouted, trying to pull back.  
"You don't have to be scared..." I said, she suddenly stopped panicking. "I'm here... as long as you hold my hand, you'll be safe." I finally let out. I was quite surprised at my ability to say such cheesy things... "What the hell is wrong with me", I thought. Her face went to a worried look, to a calmer gaze. She took off her shoes. One step at a time, she followed me into the low rise water. The waves slowly hit our legs.  
"...See..." I said, trying to convince her that water was not dangerous. She smiled at me, a sweet smile at that. I felt myself be taken in by her clear eyes. We stood there a few minutes, still holding hands, just enjoying the noise of the sea. Eventually, we walked back home...

"Naoto!" a man's voice shouted, as Yoshihara and I stood on the door step.  
"You are soaked!" he continued " Get inside! You cannot be seen in such pitiful state!" He gripped on to her pulling her inside. I walked in slowly after, I saw the Yoshihara family start to pack their business papers. I went up to get dressed and came back down. Yoshihara's family was ready to leave.  
"Haruka, the Yoshihara's are leaving!" my mother said out loud as I walked down the stairs. I stood on the last step, feeling slightly sad. The young girl I had just met was standing beside her mother, she also looked sad. I waved at the adults before they turned around to leave. Naoto stayed at the door, looking down at the floor.  
"Yoshihara..." I spoke out, jumping off the last step. Her head swung back up as she walked quickly to me. In a split second, I felt my head be pushed back. A pair of soft lips were resting on mine. My eyes widened, my cheeks became crimson red. But as quickly as the kiss came, the girl turned around.  
"Good bye Nanase!" she shouted running off. I rubbed my lips with my finger, what had just happened had left me in shock. My heart was raising, my palms where crisp.  
"Haruka?" I heard my mom say. I quickly turned around. She giggled "What's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost? Close the door before the bugs come in!" she said leaving. My mother had seen nothing of what had just happened. I walked to the door to close it, but left it slightly open. I watched as Yoshihara sat in the car and looked out her window. She waves slightly at me as the car drove away.

At that moment, I didn't understand what I was feeling. But today, I know that what happened that year, was the day I fell in love for the first time...


End file.
